Netflix also announced this week that it has signed a deal with Disney to release its movies on the streaming service shortly after their theatrical run, beating pay TV to the punch.

The multiyear licensing agreement announced Tuesday represents a breakthrough for Netflix as it tries to secure more exclusive programming for a popular service that streams video over high-speed Internet connections. The approach is making Netflix more like traditional pay-TV channels such as HBO, Starz and Showtime.

Financial terms weren't disclosed, but analysts estimate that Netflix will pay Disney more than $350 million annually. That's a hefty bill that will require Netflix to accelerate its subscriber growth or consider raising its prices.

Netflix Canada currently charges $7.95 a month. Among its biggest obstacles to growth here are relatively low bandwidth caps that can make watching streaming movies prohibitively expensive for many internet customers.

At a tech conference earlier this year, Sarandos said Canada has “almost third-world access to the internet” due to the download caps and a relative lack of competition in internet service providers.